Totem Studies – The Sketches, Paintings and Sculptures of Fred H. Griffin

Fred Griffin lived his life in the Pacific Northwest. Apart from his work as a designer and teacher in graphic design, Fred was a painter, sculptor and wood carver. As a young man, Fred spent hundreds of hours studying Northwest Coast Native American art. As he absorbed the folklore of the Northwest Coast Native American tribes, Fred began his own odyssey of interpretation. This important lyrical, personal, sometimes playful work is gathered here in this book. The sketchbook pages give a sense of Fred Griffin’s unique point of view as a graphic designer. The section includes studies for paintings and murals. The people chapter is a result of Fred’s fascination with the symbols as pattern on the human form. The painting chapter reveals how Fred Griffin’s impression and love of the subject came together in color and composition.